Ale to the chief: Drink what U.S. Presidents would drink today

It's the week to celebrate American craft beer and Palm Beach County has several local options. (Damon Higgins / The Palm Beach Post)

U.S. Presidents have a long history of brewing and indulging in American craft beer. (Damon Higgins / The Palm Beach Post)

If you’re off on Presidents Day, make like a U.S. president and pop open a cold one.

U.S. presidents love their beer.

PresidentBarack Obama become the first president to brew his own beer at the White House. He even made the honey ale and honey porter recipes available online after a pair of homebrewers filed a open-records request.

James Madison wanted to establish a national beer brewery and appoint a Secretary of Beer (to protect American brewers from overseas competition). And it was Franklin Delano Roosevelt who, in his first so-called fireside chat, called for the end of Prohibition within his first 100 days in office. Congress agreed a few days later.

“I think it’s time for beer” he said, famously.

Cheer to that.

World of Beer is kicking off Presidents Day with a month-long tribute to pilsners. They will be tapping everything from local pilsners to imports, culminating March 12 with the Czech Republic’s unfiltered, unpasteurized Pilsner Urquell, which, World of Beer claims, is the first time this beer has been available in the U.S. on this scale.

And in South Florida, pilsners from American craft beer local breweries will be available to taste side-by-side with the Old World brewery’s offering.

Of course, there’s always the tap rooms at Palm Beach County’s local craft breweries, three of which were recently visited by the Esquire Network television show Brew Dogs and will be featured on an upcoming season.